Relationship between Multimorbidity and Cognitive Decline Moderated by Social Health

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Multimorbidity is one of the important problems in health that can lead to cognitive decline. There is notable literature revealing that multimorbidity and cognitive ability are associated with social health and social-related activity. In this regard, this study aimed to investigate the role of social health in the relationship between multimorbidity and cognitive decline. Materials and Methods: This descriptive-correlational study was conducted on all elderly people aged 70 years and above referring to the outpatient clinics of hospitals in Tehran, Iran, within July-September 2019. The volunteer samples (n=270) were selected from three randomly selected hospitals, namely Imam Khomeini, Sina, and Shariati, using the availability sampling method. The instruments of the study included questionnaires, namely a social-demographic form, the Chronic Diseases Checklist, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) Test, and Social Health Questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 22) using linear regression. Results: The results showed that MoCA (cognitive decline) had a significant relationship with multimorbidity (β=0.58, 95% CI: 0.62-0.54, P<0.001) and social health (β=-0.21, 95% CI: -0.26. -0.16, P<0.001). Moreover, the findings indicated that social health was a mediator variable between multimorbidity and cognitive decline (β=0.12, 95% CI: 0.09-0.14, P<0.001), in which the amplification of social health would modulate the negative effect of multimorbidity on cognition ability. Conclusion: According to the results of the present study, social health was a moderating variable in the relationship between multimorbidity and cognitive decline. In the other words, social health was a protective factor against a particular risk factor, such as multimorbidity, in protecting cognitive abilities.